LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

Lifters not pumping up

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Old Apr 30, 2011 | 09:16 PM
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Default Lifters not pumping up

i installed my new 383 and had to take it to the shop because the motor was running bad. the car was backfireing because the lifters were bottoming out and not filling with oil or something??? the shop told me that the topend was not getting oil to it. they tried a few things and decided to give me the car back because they could not figure it out...

i took off the manifold and rented a priming bit form Autozone. I started t to prime for 5 min and nothing still with 60lbs of oil pressure. I took out each lifter individually and saw oil traveling threw the lifter galley at a good velocity, almost enough to reach the other side, is that good enough??? i can see the lifter very slowly allowing oil to pool on the area where the puchrod would sit and thats about all. my drill is a Dewalt 18v.

I was told maybe the freeze plugs fell out in the front of the motor but i pulled the timing cover back enough to see them sill in place, they said if they were out my oil pressure would be low too and it is not.

The lifters are LS7 and they came right out of my old block straight into my new motor. they are all still soft and not allowing my valves to open all the way. should i get new lifters and try to prime again??
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Old Apr 30, 2011 | 10:11 PM
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Do you have any idea what the oil pressure was? If it was mine I'd hook a mechanical gauge to it and see.

Al 95 Z28
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Old Apr 30, 2011 | 11:22 PM
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it was reading 60 when started and if you mean the other motors pressure, this is a new pump.

with the intake off i turned the key to the on position, started priming and viewed the dash gauge rise to 60lbs and fall when the priming tool was engaged. i do not feel that a mechanical gauge would do any dif.
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Old Apr 30, 2011 | 11:37 PM
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Originally Posted by jasonz28camaro
it was reading 60 when started and if you mean the other motors pressure, this is a new pump.

with the intake off i turned the key to the on position, started priming and viewed the dash gauge rise to 60lbs and fall when the priming tool was engaged. i do not feel that a mechanical gauge would do any dif.
Youd be suprised. I have a mechanical guage hooked up to a "T" fitting where the oil sending unit is for the inside guage. Its a 20psi difference in most cases.
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Old May 1, 2011 | 09:40 AM
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From: Jackstandican
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I'd start by measuring the lifter bores.
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Old May 1, 2011 | 09:49 AM
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How? What will it it'll me.
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Old May 1, 2011 | 10:04 AM
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From: Jackstandican
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The most accurate way is with a dial bore gauge that will fit into the lifter bores. If there is too much clearance then your oil pressure will suffer, however if you say you have 60psi of pressure cold then I don't think that's your problem.
This is a dumb question, but I have to ask, are you using the dogbones and spider tray to ensure the lifters are riding in the bores correctly?
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Old May 1, 2011 | 10:19 AM
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Just dogbones same as the other motor with no problem.
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Old May 1, 2011 | 10:32 AM
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You are using this, right?
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Old May 1, 2011 | 10:34 AM
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Yes, that spider and dogbones ( I guess that's what they are called x8)
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Old May 1, 2011 | 11:24 AM
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I think you should just call the shop that built this engine (hopefully it's local) and see what they say. Quite possible it will have to come back out because whatever it is the engine is suffering doesn't sound like it can be fixed with the engine in the bay. JMO.
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Old May 1, 2011 | 11:30 AM
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here is a clip of what im dealing with. let me know if im not doing something right or if something jumps out at you.

http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s...t=IMG_1204.mp4
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Old May 1, 2011 | 12:28 PM
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so i put one of my old lifters in the car and it filled up very fast and even after about a min pumped oil out the pushrod. What does that tell me, lifters bad or do the LS7 lifters not fill up as fast or .....
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Old May 1, 2011 | 01:18 PM
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From: Jackstandican
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I dunno... My opinions have swayed like a fart in the wind in this thread.
Before ditching the LS7 lifters I'd get a right angle drill and try that out. I'm not sure how many RPM that cordless of yours produces, but I'd go for something that can produce over 1000rpm and see what happens.
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Old May 1, 2011 | 02:04 PM
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so.... the #6 and #8 wires were mixed up, that solves some of my problems... thats probably why it was backfiring...

now im going to get a better drill and try to get oil to flow. i got one of the ls7 lifters to push oil through a pushrod.
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Old May 1, 2011 | 06:16 PM
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i need a lifter expert to answer this question about the pic below.
there is a small plate just below the the cup on the lifter where the pushrod sits. there is flow out of each lifter at this point but not enough. i place a pushrod on top of the lifter and can sometimes get oil to the top of it, no rockers are hooked up at this point.

if i stick something small enough in the top of the lifter that will push down on the small plate i get a lot of oil coming out of the top of the lifter. how does that plate work and if i hook up all the rockers will it start to move so the oil can come out of the hole? with the pushrod engaged it doesnt allow the plate to move at all so it is the same. with it running would that be a different story?

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Old May 1, 2011 | 06:50 PM
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The "plate" is the valve that keeps the lifter "inflated" with oil as it lifts the pushrod. My guess is what you're seeing is completely normal. If you're expecting oil to gush out of the pushrods it's not going to happen with LS7 lifters. You will see oil after it runs about 45 seconds but not a lot. Check the oil pressure, test don't guess.

Al 95 Z28
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Old May 1, 2011 | 07:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Big Al
The "plate" is the valve that keeps the lifter "inflated" with oil as it lifts the pushrod. My guess is what you're seeing is completely normal. If you're expecting oil to gush out of the pushrods it's not going to happen with LS7 lifters. You will see oil after it runs about 45 seconds but not a lot. Check the oil pressure, test don't guess.

Al 95 Z28
That lifter in the pic is stock but almost exactly the same at the ls7. After messing with both today you can clearly see that the stock lifter flows way more than the ls7.
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Old May 1, 2011 | 08:15 PM
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I installed the rockers just now and set them to a hair past zero lash for now and once its running I'll set to 1/4. I soaked the rods in oil and cleaned the lifters with solvent and I got a little dribble up top now on most all the pushrods. I turned the motor over a few times and I'll prime some more befor I install the intake. Thanks for all the support so far and I'll let you guys know what happens when I get it started tomorrow.
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Old May 2, 2011 | 10:56 AM
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From: burton mi
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i had some ls7 lifters in my car last year when i put my new motor in, and they started collapsing sounds just like yours, anyways i took one apart and the oil looked like water so i dont think it was thick enough to pump them up.. threw my stockers in and ran it the whole rest of the summer!
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